Legal MMJ + Online Media Equals Trouble for Prohibition

A recent study published in the International Journal of Drug Policy found that legal access to medical cannabis motivates the public to seek more information, which in turn opens more minds to the idea of full-scale legalization. Moreover, cannabis media sites play a major role in the shift of public opinion.

Israeli researchers at the University of Haifa sought to explore the idea that "medical cannabis legalization influences cannabis legalization for recreational purposes through increased media attention." The study involved 554 participants and analyzed different types of media and whether the information was actively sought or incidentally obtained. While mass-media sources did not appear to have an impact, information sought from online media sources was associated with "positive attitudes towards medical cannabis," and these attitudes were indirectly linked to greater support for full legalization.

"As increasingly more jurisdictions are expected to legalize medical cannabis, with resulting increase in media attention, support for recreational cannabis legalization may be expected to grow," the researchers predicted.

It appears knowledge really is power when it comes to the fight against prohibition.